SLOVENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Bojan Brežan, Marko Frantar, Maks David Osojnik and Špela Lovšin, Schoenherr Slovenia
The merits stage is concluded with the court render- ing a judgment. Allocation of Compensation (Compensatory Only) If the court rendered a judgment in which it awarded compensation, the proceedings enter the post-judg- ment stage ‒ that is, the allocation and distribution of compensation. Depending on the specificities of the case (eg, the size of the class), two systems of allocation and distribution of compensation are pos- sible – namely, individualised or non-individualised compensation. Under the former, the compensa- tion is individually divided among the members of the class within the judgment itself. Under the latter, the judgment provides for an aggregate sum or an amount or otherwise determinable value (expressed, for example, as a percentage of the price or unit) or other value that each member of the class will receive, and appoints a compensation administrator, who car- ries out the logistics of compensation allocation (for further details see 3.11 Remedies ). 3.3 Standing Collective action may only be brought by a qualified entity, which can be either: • a representative non-profit private legal entity with a direct link between its primary objectives and the rights allegedly infringed; • State Attorney’s Office ( Državno odvetništvo Republike Slovenije ); or • an entity which represents the interests of consum- ers in another EU member state and is included in the list of entities entitled to bring consumer collec- tive actions in another EU member state, provided that its founding purpose justifies the bringing of a collective action or an application for approval of a collective settlement in the particular case (only in the field of consumer protection). When determining whether a private legal entity is rep- resentative, the court must assess whether it will be an adequate representative of the class and whether it will act fairly and appropriately in the best interests of its members. Additionally, the courts must consider:
• the entity’s independence and whether the entity is under the influence of persons who are not mem- bers of the class, in particular whether the entity is under the influence of persons who have an economic interest in bringing a collective action or a collective settlement; • the existence of sufficient financial and human resources and legal knowledge to represent the class; • the activities already undertaken by the entity to raise awareness of the infringement and the activi- ties aimed at the voluntary discontinuation of the infringement and the voluntary remediation of dam- age by the perpetrator; • the activities already undertaken by the entity to prepare for the collective settlement or collective action and to organise and communicate with the affected persons; • the number of affected persons who have sup- ported the entity’s activities in relation to a specific case of mass harm; • the entity’s media presence and dissemination of information about the alleged violations and its intention of bringing a collective action for dam- ages; • any conflicts between the sub-groups of affected persons; and • the existence and activities of other entities that may have a standing to bring the case and any experience they may have with pursuing collective claims. Furthermore, the entity must publish on its website information on its sources of funding in general, organisational and administrative structure, member- ship structure, founding purpose, and its activities. A higher state attorney cannot file a claim against the Republic of Slovenia. 3.4 Class Members, Size and Mechanism – Opting In or Out A collective compensatory action can either be an opt-in or an opt-out action. Although the claimant is obliged to propose and substantiate to the court which mechanism it seeks, the court is not bound by the proposal and has the discretion to determine the
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